Sir Mark Elder will conduct the Hallé in an all-English programme to open this year’s Lichfield Festival. The renowned orchestra and its hugely respected resident conductor will be playing to their strengths with a programme centring on Sir Edward Elgar’s Symphony No.2 with mezzo soprano Alice Coote the soloist in Elgar’s Sea Pictures. This concert is on Thursday 5 July in Lichfield Cathedral.
A few days later the tenor Ian Bostridge will give a Schumann recital in the same atmospheric setting.
Birmingham Bach Choir and the London Baroque Players under the direction of former Lichfield Festival artistic director Paul Spicer will perform Bach’s Mass In B Minor on the first Saturday of the Festival. Soloists will include bass Peter Harvey.
A very different sound will fill Lichfield Cathedral on Wednesday 11 July as the contemporary folk band Bellowhead take to the main stage. The 12-piece band is has twice won the award for Best Group and has been voted Best Live Act for an unprecedented five consecutive years at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Visiting artists coming the furthest will be the Orchestra Of The Music Makers. The group boasts 100 fine amateur musicians and has become the premier orchestra in Singapore where they play year-round in the state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. They will be playing a family concert including Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Their director is Chan Tze Law.
The beloved children’s author Michael Rosen will be the subject of this year’s Festival Big Read with hundreds of his books distributed around the City free for young readers and a chance to meet the author during the Festival.
Some other 2012 Lichfield Festival highlights include:
- Reduced Shakespeare Company performing The World Of Sport, in honour of the Olympics.
- Full Aspire education programme including an evening of celebratory anthems composed by schools with assistance from composer Kate Pearson.
- A new work by composer Jonathan Dove, sung by the Lichfield Festival Chorus
- Young Artist Series, featuring rising classical music stars from around the country, including cellist Philip Higham.
The 11-day multi-arts festival centred around Lichfield’s impressive medieval cathedral and the Lichfield Garrick Theatre features a wide range of classical, jazz, folk and world music, and includes the Florette Festival Market on Saturday 7 July. The Lichfield Festival is the premier multi-arts festival in the West Midlands. Festival Director is Fiona Stuart. The full programme is announced in April and booking opens in May. The 2012 Lichfield Festival is supported by principal partner BMW Plant Hams Hall, Arts Council England, and Lichfield District Council.
